This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/FR00/03501, filed on Dec. 13, 2000. Priority is claimed on that application and on the following application(s): Country: France, Application No.: 99 15652, Filed: Dec. 13, 1999.
The invention relates to the field of cooking utensils having at least one outwardly-directed lug forming a handle plate.
In order to handle such cooking utensils, it is common practice to use a removable handle comprising a grip that is stick-shaped. Having a handle that is removable makes it possible to greatly reduce the overall outside dimensions of the utensil, for example when the utensil is used for cooking in an oven, or while it is being washed in a machine, or for storage purposes.
Removable handles are already known suitable for cooperating with the lug of the utensil, said lug having a slot for receiving a hook, nose, or other fixed element of the handle, and the handle also including a sliding member mounted thereon and locking on the lug.
The state of the art is illustrated by FR 2 579 444 and DE 25 10 894 which show removable handles in which the sliding member is actuated by a control pushbutton located on the top face of the grip.
EP 0 852 924, in the name of the Applicant, discloses an extra flat handle in which the control pushbutton is slidably mounted on the top face of the handle.
Those removable handles generally give satisfaction. Nevertheless, when they are used by a person who is elderly or handicapped, and who has difficulty in lifting the cooking utensil with a single hand that grips the handle firmly, the hand can take up a position over the control pushbutton. If the hand of the elderly or handicapped person then slips slightly on the handle, then the locking/unlocking member can move into the unlocked position, which can lead to a catastrophe.
The object of the invention is to provide a handle which includes a grip and in which the position of the control pushbutton makes it possible to avoid the above-described situation.
According to the invention, the control pushbutton is placed at the end of the grip so as to leave the entire grip free and so as to avoid any risk of accidental unlocking while it is in use.
The invention thus provides a handle device for a cooking utensil presenting at least one outwardly-directed lug having a slot formed therein substantially parallel to the inside edge of the lug, said handle device comprising a removable handle provided with an S-bend nose suitable for being inserted into the slot of the lug from above, a locking/unlocking member mounted on said handle so as to be capable of sliding along the axis of said handle, and resilient means for urging the locking/unlocking member towards the nose, said locking/unlocking member presenting a control pushbutton on the top face of the handle, a latch on the bottom face of the handle for co-operating with the outside edge of the lug, and a slider interconnecting the pushbutton and the latch.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are intended solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
According to the invention, this handle device is characterized by the facts that:
a) the handle comprises a grip formed by a plate sandwiched between a top strip and a bottom strip, said plate being extended at the front end of said grip by a plate portion which is terminated by the nose;
b) said plate has an oblong slot between the inside faces of said strips for guiding the slider;
c) a cavity open to the front face of the grip is provided in the fronts of the inside faces of said strips in register with the oblong slot; and
d) the control pushbutton is placed at the front of the handle and is connected to the slider by an arm.
The following advantageous dispositions can also be adopted:
the locking/unlocking member is made as a single piece;
the plate includes a recess towards the rear end of the grip and in line with the slot, the recess being broader than said oblong slot so as to allow the latch to be passed therethrough during assembly;
the latch is in the form of a stud which, in the retracted position, is received in part in a notch formed in the front face of the bottom strip;
the oblong slot and the cavities provided at the front ends of the strips house resilient means bearing against the rear face of the slider and against the end wall of the cavities;
the plate also includes a cutout for receiving a corresponding projection formed on the inside face of at least one of the strips so as to prevent sliding of said strip relative to the plate; and
at least one of the strips has a cavity in register with the cutout and in its inside face for receiving a corresponding projection formed on the inside face of the other strip.